Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

China is carrying out oil and gas exploration inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to new research that analysts say reflects Beijing’s strategy of steadily eroding Taipei’s control over its territory. At least 12 vessels and permanent structures operated by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) were detected in Taiwan’s EEZ during July and August, including one within 50km of the restricted waters around the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. Several steel foundations for offshore drilling platforms were also identified, according to research by the US-based Jamestown Foundation. The activity, which has not previously been reported, is viewed by…

Italy is weighing whether to keep details of state flights secret following the alleged jamming of satellite signals on an aircraft carrying the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, by Russia. Von der Leyen, a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, was travelling to Bulgaria on Sunday when her chartered plane lost satellite navigation support. The failure delayed its arrival in Plovdiv and forced it to circle for nearly an hour. The incident has prompted renewed debate among EU member states over how to protect leaders’ flights from electronic interference. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of…

Kraft Heinz, the American food group behind brands such as Philadelphia cream cheese and Heinz tomato ketchup, has announced plans to split into two independent businesses, a decade after its creation in a $45bn merger. The Chicago-based company said it would carry out a tax-free spin-off, creating two separately listed firms in an attempt to simplify its structure and revive growth following years of declining sales. The move will unwind the 2015 merger of Kraft and Heinz, engineered by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital, two years after the pair took Heinz private. At…

More than 1,000 people have been killed in a landslide that destroyed a village in western Sudan, according to a rebel group controlling the area. The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) said the disaster struck on Sunday after heavy rainfall triggered the collapse of the mountainside, wiping out the village of Tarasin in the Marra mountains. The group reported that only one person survived. “Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than 1,000 individuals, with only one survivor,” the movement said in a statement. “The village has now been completely levelled to the ground.” Footage…

An 11-year-old boy has been shot dead in Houston, Texas, while playing a doorbell prank game with friends. Police said the child was struck several times as he attempted to run from a house in the city’s Eastside neighbourhood on Saturday evening. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. The Houston police department confirmed a middle-aged man had been arrested in connection with the shooting. Several firearms were recovered from the property. Neither the suspect nor the victim have been publicly named. According to detectives, the boy and his friends had been playing “ding-dong ditch”, a prank in which…

Berlin police have launched an internal investigation after video footage emerged of an Irish activist being punched in the face twice by an officer during a pro-Palestinian demonstration, prompting concern from Ireland’s foreign office. The activist, Kitty O’Brien, was seen in footage posted on social media being struck by a male officer before being dragged away, bloodied, from Thursday’s rally in the Mitte district of the German capital. Local newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported that O’Brien’s arm was also broken, though this has not been independently verified. Longer video clips showed O’Brien, who uses non-binary pronouns, shouting at officers, calling them…

The United States has suspended almost all visa approvals for Palestinians, according to reports, in a move that significantly expands earlier restrictions and has drawn widespread criticism. The New York Times reported that the suspension applies to nearly all holders of Palestinian passports, effectively blocking access to the US for medical treatment, study, business and family visits. The measure goes well beyond previous policies, which had focused primarily on residents of Gaza. Officials cited by the newspaper, who were not authorised to speak publicly, said the restrictions were intended to be temporary while the State Department conducts a broader review…

Donald Trump’s efforts to influence the US Federal Reserve risk destabilising the global economy, the president of the European Central Bank has warned. Christine Lagarde said attempts by the US president to undermine the independence of the world’s most powerful central bank would have repercussions well beyond America’s borders. Speaking to France’s Radio Classique, Lagarde said removing the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, or governor Lisa Cook would be a “very serious danger for the US economy and the world economy”. “If US monetary policy were no longer independent and instead dependent on the dictates of this or that person, then…

A plane carrying the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, was forced to circle above Bulgaria for an hour after losing satellite navigation signals in what authorities believe was the result of Russian interference. The incident occurred on Sunday as von der Leyen was travelling by charter aircraft to the city of Plovdiv during a tour of EU member states on the bloc’s eastern frontier. Bulgarian officials suspect the disruption was caused by “blatant interference” from Russia, according to the commission’s deputy spokesperson, Arianna Podestà. “We are aware and used to the threats and intimidations that are a regular…

At least 250 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late on Sunday, flattening homes and leaving rescuers scrambling to reach remote communities. The magnitude 6 tremor struck the rugged province of Kunar at 11.47pm, with its epicentre located 27km north-east of Jalalabad in neighbouring Nangarhar, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake struck at a depth of just 8km, amplifying the destruction. A second tremor, measuring 4.5, followed 20 minutes later in the same province. Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s health ministry, confirmed the death toll was likely…